Nuremberg

For Martin Luther, Nuremberg was 'the eyes and ears of Germany'. The city on the river Pegnitz was a 'media centre', home to 21 printing houses, which helped to rapidly circulate the messages of the Reformation.

That may well be why the two large churches of St. Lawrence and St. Sebaldus in Nuremberg were among the first Protestant churches in Germany. It also says something about the level-headedness of the people of Nuremberg that the destruction of religious imagery prevalent at the time of the Reformation did not occur here and both churches retained their rich decorative paintings. One such example is the tomb of St. Sebaldus, only completed in 1519, which remained in the church after the Reformation and is regarded today as its greatest treasure.

In 1532 the religious Peace of Nuremberg was signed in the city, which repealed the existing proscription of Protestants in the empire.

Highlights

Amid the fountains, half-timbered houses and old city walls, it is easy to fall in love with Nuremberg. A city unlike any other, it has retained its traditional Franconian character and charm. No trip to Nuremberg would be complete without a visit to Kaiserburg Castle and Albrecht Dürer's House, or without a tour of the Germanic National Museum, the largest museum on the culture, art and history of the German-speaking world from its beginnings right up to the present day.